KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Jen Richardson, the Kalamazoo teacher who lost to State Representative Jon Hoadley to challenge Fred Upton in November, is asking for a recount for two local races.
In a written statement on Wednesday, Richardson highlighted two primary races where women of color lost “by very small margins.”
“I would like to see the local party leadership and candidates support a recount for Monteze Morales and Stephanie Moore in their races,” Richardson states.
Morales, a Democrat, was running to be the 2nd District Kalamazoo County Commissioner but lost by only 25 votes to Zac Bauer, one of the newest members of the Board of Commissioners.
Moore, a current Kalamazoo County Commissioner, was ahead of former Board Chair Julie Rogers for most of the night in the Democratic 60th District state House race, but when absentee ballots were counted, Rogers pulled ahead by about 420 votes.
Richardson says she wants to make sure these candidates did not lose due to bias or human error in the electoral process.
Moore tells WWMT that she would also like a recount in her race. Rogers says she has no problem with that.
A recount request cannot be filed until the votes are certified, which must happen within two weeks.
Richardson was ahead of Hoadley in Tuesday’s Democratic 6th Congressional District race for most of election night, but she lost by almost 3,000 votes when the race was called Wednesday morning.
In her concession statement, she said she would not be issuing an endorsement for Hoadley at this time, saying, “I am also very concerned by the alleged behaviors of Rep. Hoadley exposed yesterday and do not find acceptable the casual dismissal of misogyny, use of meth, and potential pedophilia as “bad poetry.” We must hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and to the highest standards of integrity.”
Brittany Bodenheimer, Communications Director for Hoadley’s campaign responded with the following statement:
“Amid more than 150,000 deaths from COVID-19 and a collapsing economy, this type of false attack is what’s wrong with Washington politics and it’s exactly the type of thing Jon is running to change. While Upton’s Republican allies are slinging mud to distract from Upton’s record, Jon is focused on protecting affordable health care and lowering the cost of prescription drugs – issues that he hears about every day from voters in Southwest Michigan.”
LGBQT Victory Fund Senior Political Director, Sean Meloy also made a statement saying, “Instead of helping our country weather this health and economic crisis, Fred Upton and his DC Republican friends are spending their time trading in tired, debunked, and offensive stereotypes about LGBTQ people. That couldn’t stand in clearer contrast to Jon Hoadley whose record of public service makes clear he’s focused on delivering results for his community.”
More election results for Kalamazoo County can be found here.
